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However such was the rapid growth of AK throughout Europe at that time that in a few short years this Europe-wide chapter was modified to national European chapters; France, UK, Germany, and Italy, Switzerland and Benelux were the original chapters and more soon followed.
At that time Meldener was the only teaching diplomate in Europe and was in strong demand to teach the 100-hours basic course. This he did in France, Denmark, Norway, UK, Switzerland, and Belgium.
He presented the 100-hours in Bournemouth at the Anglo-European School of Chiropractic and later in London at the British School of Osteopathy. The dissemination of chiropractic methods into European medical and osteopathic colleges had begun.
Meldener was also busy introducing AK to the dental profession in London in Harley Street, in Reims University with Pr Namani, in University of Lille with Pr Dupas, and in University of Paris Garenciere with Pr Jeanmonod.
In 1991 at the University of Compiegne in France with Professors Goubel and Perot, Meldener published the first research article that showed, using the tibialis anterior muscle, under University laboratory conditions, the objective evidence for manual muscle testing and AK. During this project Goodheart visited the laboratory and approved the research. This was later published in French and English.14-15
ICAK-France Revives
In 2002 Laurent Picard, DC, was an associate with Philippe Albertini, DC, in a company that organized various chiropractic seminars in France. They wanted to organize the 100-hours of AK because there was no kinesiology course in France at that point. So, Laurent phoned Drs. David and Monique Leaf to ask if they would be interested in teaching AK in Paris. Subsequently Leaf organized this course within the French chiropractic school, IFEC. Leaf certified a lot of participants.
In 2014 Dr. Florent Fournier succeeded Picard to the presidency of ICAK-France and has organized many events, including the most important chiropractic seminars in France.
The ICAK-France chapter was born in 2005, when Picard went to Toronto for the ICAK international meeting. A high point for Picard was taking a glass of champagne and spending some minutes alone with Dr. Goodheart. From all of this he realized, like so many before him, that ICAK was “his home,” the synthesis of all the education over many previous years. It was during this meeting that he decided to immerse himself in the study of AK and to pass the diplomate examination of ICAK to teach in France and in French, the basis of AK.
Picard took the presidency of ICAK-France in 2007 and gained his DIBAK in October 2008. Since September 2009, he has taught the 100-hours AK course in Paris and Toulouse every year. Over the next 10 years, about 500 DCs have completed half or all of the ICAK basic training. In parallel, Dr. David Leaf gave his basic and advance training at the Institut Franco-Européen de Chiropractique.
The First AK Seminars in Italy
When it comes to recalling history, many dates and facts are often incomplete, and the Italian AK story is no exception. Although there is some evidence that AK seminars in Europe were organized by the Association Culturelle Chiropractic Team in 1974 and that the first time George Goodheart lectured in Europe was in September 1976 at the PLM Hotel Orly Paris Airport, there is very little photographic and written documentation regarding the first seminars in Italy. What is known is that Italian-based Jean-Pierre Meersseman was present at this first seminar by Dr. Goodheart.
It’s unfortunate that more information was not documented about this period, but what is known is that applied kinesiology was spread by the initiatives of chiropractors. Although it has been well documented that Marcello Trentin, DC, was the first full-time chiropractor in Italy starting in 1949, the chiropractic profession did not really “take off” until the advent of the “Static Clinics” in the 1970s and 1980s. Over these decades virtually hundreds of chiropractors, mostly from schools in the United States, were rotated through Italy.
This new concept was legally acceptable and opened the way to National Health Insurance contracts, rendering chiropractic free of charge to all Italians. Then combined with skillful and successful publicity, Static became a whirlwind of activity. In a short while, Static established 22 clinics in all the major cities of Italy. With a large capital expenditure, counting more than five hundred active support personnel, each individual chiropractor would deliver more than 500 to 1000 treatments per week and with the entire chain of clinics delivering over a million total treatments to 40,000 new patients per year, Static became one of the largest operations delivering services performed by chiropractors that the profession has ever known.
Quality of care became a problem due to the large numbers; at the same time other chiropractors were setting themselves up in independent “private” offices with higher quality, superior techniques utilizing applied kinesiology procedures and without reimbursement from the National Health System. Almost all “private” patients paid in cash. These chiropractors represented a minority of the overall DC population but were able to create an image of being exclusive. Word quickly spread among the population of the incredible results of these chiropractors, and this group started to see large numbers of patients privately.
Around this period, having heard of the great opportunities of chiropractic in Italy, DC’s from other countries comprised mainly of French, Americans, Belgians, Canadians, Swiss, English, and others came to live the Italian dream.
